Indian Peafowl

The Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus, also known as the Common Peafowl or the Blue Peafowl, is one of the species of bird in the genus Pavo of the Phasianidaefamily known as peafowl. The Indian Peafowl is a resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent and has been introduced into many parts of the world and feral populations exist in many introduced regions. The peacock is the national bird of India.

The species is found in dry semi-desert grasslands, scrub and deciduous forests. It forages and nests on the ground but roosts on top of trees. It eats seeds, insects, fruits, small mammals and reptiles.

Females are about 86 cm (34 in) long and weigh 2.75-4 kg (6-8.8 lbs), while males average at about 2.12 m (7.3 ft) in full breeding plumage (107 cm/42 in when not) and weigh 4-6 kg (8.8-13.2 lbs). The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen. The Indian Peacock has iridescent blue-green plumage. The upper tail coverts on its back are elongated and ornate with an eye at the end of each feather. These are the Peacock's display feathers. The female plumage is a mixture of dull green, grey and iridescent blue, with the greenish-grey predominating. In the breeding season, females stand apart by lacking the long 'tail feathers' also known as train, and in the non-breeding season they can be distinguished from males by the green colour of the neck as opposed to the blue on the males.

Peafowl are most notable for the male's extravagant display feathers which, despite actually growing from their back, are known as a 'tail' or train. This train is in reality not the tail but the enormously elongated upper tail coverts. The tail itself is brown and short as in the peahen. The colours result from the micro-structure of the feathers and the resulting optical phenomena.[1] The ornate train is believed to be the result of female sexual selection as males raised the feathers into a fan and quiver it as part of courtship display. Many studies have suggested that the quality of train is an honest signal of the condition of males and that peahens select males on the basis of their plumage. More recent studies however, suggest that other cues may be involved in mate selection by peahens.[2][3][4]

They lay a clutch of 4-8 eggs which take 28 days to hatch. The eggs are light brown and are laid every other day usually in the afternoon. The male does not assist with the rearing, and is polygamous with up to six hens.

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Hybridization and concerns

The Indian Peafowl can hybridise with the closely related Green Peafowl, Pavo muticus, in captivity and creates offspring called "Spauldings" or "Spaldings". The original "Spalding" was a hybrid between a female of the Black-Shouldered mutation of the Indian Peafowl, with a male of the nominate Java subspecies of the Green Peafowl, though some believe it was really a cross between a Black-Shouldered male with a Green Peafowl hen of the subspecies imperator.

Even though there is no natural range overlap, hybridization occurs in the wild when feral populations of one of the species overlaps another species. Hybridization has created some concern as the Green Peafowl is endangered.

Indian Peacock (called Mayura in Sanskrit) has enjoyed a fabled place in India since ancient times. In imagery Lord Krishna is always represented wearing a peacock feather tucked in his headband. Peacocks often live in proximity to humans. Ancient kings in India were said to have gardens to raise peacocks where guests were invited to see the famous male peacock dance during the mating season. Due to this close proximity to humans for thousands of years, they have entered ancient Indian stories, songs and poems as symbols of beauty and poise. As the mating season coincides with the onset of monsoon rains and the month of Shravan in the Hindu calendar, many songs of rains have peacock-dance mentioned in them. One possible origins of the name of the famous Maurya dynasty of ancient India is probably derived from the word Mayura as the ancestors of the Mauryas are thought to be peacock-keepers of a royal court in eastern India.

Poaching

Poaching of peacocks for their feathers and poisoning by feeding on pesticide treated seeds are known threats to wild birds.[6] Methods to identify if feathers have been plucked or have been shed naturally have been developed.[7] Under the law, collection of tail feathers is allowed only when the bird sheds them.[8]

Indian Peafowl as pets

In the medieval times, the Mughals of India fell in love with this bird, and started keeping them in their famous gardens. Indian Peafowl can be companion animals but there may be problems with dogs, cats and other pets. They may roam, roost or mess on adjoining property. Peafowl have been called "urban guard dogs" because their distinctive cries can act as a warning of approaching people. Several British stately homes keep peafowl in the grounds.

The Jataka tales Mahamayur Jataka (491) describing the earlier birth of Bhagavan Buddha describe it in the form of a golden peacock. There is an interesting story about the Golden peacock. Another of these tales record that intrepid Indian traders going as far as Babylon used to take peacocks with them, and had to sell them to the native population on request.

In the local folktales of India the peacock has a special place. A Punjabi folktale tells of a Queen requesting her husband not to hunt peacocks, saying that the peacock is her brother.

In the Mayuri subtribe of Bhils in India, women take out their veils whenever they see a peacock and they are worshipped during festivals.

^http://164.100.24.167/rsdebate/synopsis/197/03122002.htmDebate in the Rajya Sabha, Immediate need to save national bird from extinction: SHRI RAMA MUNI REDDY SIRIGIREDDY: I draw the attention of the GOI to the pathetic treatment being meted out to our National Bird, Peacock. Peacocks are poisoned and killed for their magnificent tail feathers. Because of lack of licensing system, the people, who are killing these birds, are rarely caught and even if they are caught, they go scot-free by paying a paltry sum by way of penalty. Under the law, collection of tail feathers is allowed only when the bird sheds them. But the most shattering thing is that the amount of feathers that are available in market far out weigh the feathers shed by peacocks. Poaching of peacocks is a grave offence. After all persistent efforts of the environmentalists and ornithologists, the Government of India has banned exporting of peacock feathers to other countries but the trading in India has not yet been stopped. Hence, I demand that there should be a blanket ban on its trading in India and there should be a stringent punishment for the offender in order to save this token of our national pride.